


Come Back to Me

by UnicornAffair



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Background Mike/Emily, F/F, Mentions of Jayden/Antonio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:31:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Lauren made one bad call during an ambush and would live to regret it. The pink ranger Mia Watanabe had fallen into a coma...the team already broken and desperate after Jayden leading needed to call up the next in line for the pink ranger helm, Terry Watanabe.





	Come Back to Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hearden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hearden/gifts).



> #Lauren Shiba Deserves Better
> 
> I wanted to write something special for the holidays for someone who has been so helpful in a pretty tough time, thank you so much dude for being there, so here's a first attempt at an in Samurai Universe fic. :) <3 Hope you enjoy

“I’m _so_ sorry Mia”

All it took was one bad call and thirty seconds for Lauren’s world to flip upside down. This team was her responsibility now that Jayden had gone off on his own, this here was where she was   _supposed_ to be and now she messed it all up. There were just too many of them, the Nighlok’s had the advantage, the new red ranger didn’t _mean_ for this all to happen. Now here she stood at the foot of the pink ranger Mia Watanabe’s bed...the one person who immediately welcomed her into the group now unconscious. All it took was the Nighlok’s to get one good hit in to force her to demorph, another to bring her into a coma before Mike had a chance to flank her. When Lauren closed her eyes she could still _hear_ Emily cry out Mia’s name as her best friend fell. The team was lucky to get out of the ambush as intact as they did...a day had already passed and nothing. This was all Lauren’s fault, someone was hurt... _Mia_ was hurt, because she foolishly stepped into a trap.

“What are we going to do now?” Lauren could hear the others in the living room, no doubt having a discussion about her. “This wouldn’t have happened if Jayden was here” Mike was never on board with this leadership change, he made that apparent from the get-go.

“You don’t know that” Kevin took his duty as the blue ranger seriously, “Jayden entrusted his sister to lead us. We have to support and _honor_ his decision”

“What does she know about leading a _team_ ? She’s been in isolation for _years._ ” Mike wasn’t going to let this go, Lauren couldn’t blame him, this team treated one another like family...and one family member may not wake up.

“And what? You think you’re going to be a better leader?” Kevin challenged, “The red ranger is _always_ the leader. Our duty is to follow the Shiba’s”

“I’ll gladly put my life out on the line for _Jayden_ but _Lauren_? She’s going to get us killed”

“Stop it!” Emily’s voice cracking broke the two boys up from locking horns with one another. She was already going through the process of possibly losing her sister, her best friend hadn’t woken up and now her best friends were turning on one another. “We have to support each other even more now, it was a mistake we _all_ make mistakes. We don’t know what Jayden would have done, but right now we have to stick together or else Xandred _will_ win”

Lauren sighed, having to leave the pink ranger’s room in favor of addressing her team. The red ranger could _feel_ the scrutiny in the looks of her teammates, Mike was right, she didn’t have much experience as a leader. All this time in isolation she was learning how to complete the fire seal, friends-family...they weren’t part of that deal. Jayden was so fortunate to have the other rangers rally by him, he should proud to have such honorable friends. This wasn’t her place, she understood that from the start. “She’s still unconscious” She wished she had better news, “Mia has a younger brother, yes?” When a ranger falls, the next person in the bloodline would have to take their place. The team _needed_ a pink ranger now more than ever.

“Terry, yeah” Antonio had been quiet, sitting in the corner, “He’s a musician, that kid isn’t going to be able to fight. You’re not suggesting…” Oh no, everyone in that room knew what she was suggesting.

“Until Mia comes to...we don’t have much of a choice” Kevin put a hand over his mouth, sighing, “We need a pink ranger”

What they _needed_ Mia Watanabe to wake up, and soon.

 

*****

 

Lauren sat at Mia’s bedside, holding her hand, “I’ve been told it helps hearing people’s voices. I’m not great at this. The talking to people thing, it’s not like I didn’t have people to talk to or anything I had my masters out in the mountain” Lauren nervously laughed, as if Mia could hear every bumbling word to come out of her mouth. “But that was more about training, duty, how I need to master the fire seal because the whole world depends on it. Ha...” Her face sombered, how could she save the world if she couldn’t even lead her team? The unconscious pink ranger was a reminder, she wasn’t ready, “Your brother is coming to the Shiba house today, we’re going to be giving him a crash course. Don’t worry” She squeezed Mia’s hand within hers, willing the other girl to wake but to no avail, “I vow to you that I will keep him safe”

“He’s here” A quiet voice belonging to Emily pulled Lauren’s attention from the bedridden pink ranger. She looked so lost standing in the door frame, so small, “She’s going to come out of this, you know” The yellow ranger entered the room and stood at Mia’s other side. “The others will come around, I know this has been a tough adjustment for everyone but…”

“But Xandred” Lauren’s eyes met Emily’s across the way, these rangers were behind her because of _duty_ , not because they genuinely liked her. Maybe that was for the best, to not to get too personal. These were her brother’s friends, not hers, “I know” With Jayden gone, Mia out, a new leader and now on top of it all a new pink ranger to train...the cards were stacked against them in their arch enemies favor. “Thank you for standing up for me”

It dawned on Emily in that moment that Lauren had heard Mike and Kevin’s argument. The walls were so thin in this place. The blonde folded her arms, “It’s not like you did this on purpose” She offered a small smile, it felt genuine, “It’s what Mia would have done” The pink ranger had her own way of keeping the boys and their egos in line. Emily looked up to Mia as a role model, she’s so beautiful and confident in her abilities, even her cooking,...which truly said a lot about her character. Emily wished she could be as brave and as strong,  “She believes in you, so I will too” The blonde’s smile grew wider, “Now go, I’ll keep her company”

Mia believed in her? She hardly even _knew_ Lauren, surely she won’t be feeling the same way once she woke up. “Thank you Emily” The red ranger returned her smile, maybe one day, when this was all said and done they could actually be friends. Best not to keep hopes up, she couldn’t handle disappointing someone else.

Lauren left the pink rangers room in favor of greeting their newest team member. Terry had entered the Shiba house with his guitar strapped to his back, Antonio and Mike were all over him grabbing his bags and making him feel at home. She didn’t exactly get the same sort of welcome wagon when she first arrived. The boys felt her presence in the room, their smiles faded as if she just came in and popped someone’s birthday balloon. “Thank you for coming” She could best anyone here in a one on one fight but when it came to social interactions, she came off as stiff, “I wish it were under better circumstances” Uncomfortable tension filled the room to its brim.

“Come on, we’ll help you move your stuff in” Antonio patted Terry’s shoulder, “I _cannot_ wait to see you rocking the pink” He chatted up the newest pink ranger, Antonio tried to remain neutral in all of this. What he wanted right now was to make the young ranger feel comfortable in these new surroundings. There hadn’t been a male pink ranger in decades, and more importantly Antonio wanted to see what the morphed outfit would look like.  

With the gold and pink ranger out of the room, it left Kevin, Mike and Lauren. Kevin as a person was hard to read, Lauren could never pin down what he was truly feeling. He carried his sense of duty like a badge of honor, but did he like her? Jury was still out on that, Mike on the other hand made his feelings all too clear. “We need to set up a training schedule” Kevin suggested, “He needs to be prepared for what’s to come, what’s expected of him on the battlefield”

Lauren could feel Mike watching her, as if waiting for her to screw up again, “I think he would benefit learning different tactics from each of us. We all bring our own strengths to the table. I don’t want him in a combat situation until I feel he’s ready” The red ranger squared her shoulders, even if she didn’t feel confident she had to show strength, that she was capable of leading this team.

Mike huffed out a breath, the situation at hand was that they were short a ranger. When nighlocks came in waves they needed every ranger to be on their A game...they were only getting _stronger_. “I’m going to check on Em” He made it a point to stare Lauren down as he passed her. Mike was going to challenge and challenge this leadership, pushing the red ranger to be better...to prove him wrong.

Good old reliable blue came over, resting a hand on her shoulder, “You’re doing the best you can” That almost sounded like a compliment, at least he was trying, “Just keep your head above water. I’ll be beside you to weather the storm”

 

*****

Lauren watched on as Mike sparred with Terry, it would be a _miracle_ if they could get this boy to be ranger ready. Antonio made it on his own just fine without the formal training but Terry...the musician could play a guitar and sing his heart out but he wasn’t talented with a blade. He didn’t have the natural talent and grace on a battlefield like his sister. The new pink ranger was too tentative, even with the other rangers on rotation he needed a lot of work. The team managed just fine as a group of five before Antonio came along which was _fine_ for hand to hand combat against foot soldiers but the turtle zord was an integral part of their arsenal.

  
The red ranger needed to take a break from watching this, she instead went to Mia’s room to keep her company. Lauren pulled up a chair next to the bed, “Training your brother isn’t easy” She sighed, “He’s not ready” Lauren wasn’t sure if Terry Watanabe would ever be up to par to fight of Xandred’s army, “He’s not _you_ ” Was that how everyone saw her? Was she the Terry to Jayden’s Mia? “The way you fight is beautiful” She held Mia’s hand, Lauren noted that Emily had taken the liberty to paint her nails pink while she was sleeping. The yellow ranger went above and beyond for her best friend. “That was weird to say” Thankfully Mia was in a coma, she couldn’t actually hear her, no...that’s a bad thought, “Is it? Yes, yes it is” Lauren stroked Mia’s hand with her thumb, “You’re beautiful and amazing and you’ve been nothing but kind to me, I wish I had the courage to tell that to you” It was easy to rattle off compliments to someone who wasn’t awake to hear them. “Oh, and by the way, you’re an _amazing_ cook. You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve had to order out...I had pizza for the first time in ten years…”

Lauren had to sit back and run a hand through her hair, it had been three days now, and she was still out of it. Mia took a hard blow to the head, and here Lauren was sitting talking about freaking dinner. The blonde ran a hand through her hair, sighing heavily, “Please come back to us, not for me, but for them...they _need_ you...”

“What we need is Jayden to come back” Mike stood at the door with his arms folded, “It was wrong of him to abandon us like this. We’re all stronger together” He stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him to give the two….three of them some privacy, “Now more than ever we need family by our side” The green ranger found another chair to take a seat, “That includes you” Oh Emily _so_ put him up to this, “I’ve been kind of a dick to you, and ah I’m sorry”

“You’re just protective of your family” The Shiba version of the story was taking her and putting her into isolation for the good of the clans. There was so much she missed out on, her baby brother had grown up and she wasn’t there to see it. “I appreciate it, thank you”

“A lot of time has passed” Mike expressed his concern, glancing over to their fallen comrade, “Do you think she’ll…” He want to say it out loud, what was on the entire teams mind, “Do you think she’ll wake up?”

“I have to believe that” Lauren remained confident, in the battle of good vs evil...no matter how dark it would seem good would win out. Xandred couldn’t win, Mia would wake up...she would get the last laugh and then bake a victory cake for the team.

“I wish it were like the fairy tales” Lauren was vaguely familiar of the hopeful stories from her childhood, Snow White...Sleeping Beauty...cursed princesses who were awoken by a kiss from a prince charming. Ha, Mia Watanabe didn’t need a prince. “We’re power rangers, there should be something we can do. I just hate sitting here and _waiting_ ”

“Do you know what helps me when I feel stressed?”

Mike was unimpressed with the question, as if Lauren _actually_ had a social life, “Push ups? Jogging? Sparring?” His eyebrow raised, he really needed to introduce her to something outside the realm of training. Mortal Kombat or Soul Calibur would be right up her alley.

Well now she just felt foolish, “I was going to say tea”

 

*****

That night Lauren offered to train Terry under the stars. As a ranger, they didn’t always get the luxury of fighting in the broad daylight. The nighloks would take every advantage they had, Terry needed to be prepared. Unlike Emily, Lauren didn’t go easy on the younger boy she was swift with her movements. Kevin taught the importance of defense, Mike how to attack, Antonio how to slickly dodge and use his speed while Emily focused on teaching him the importance of situation.

Terry was quick to learn, he went from inexperienced musician to... _okay_ in the past couple of days. Lauren knocked him on his back with a sweep to his legs, “Again” with her other hand she motioned for the young pink ranger to get to his feet. She vowed that she would protect him, the first step was making sure he knew how to defend himself.

The pink ranger got to his feet and shook his arms out to get ready for the next round. His body was absolutely _aching_ from the constant training. Lauren did feel sympathetic, of course she did, when she started her constant training she was only a small _child_. No rest for Earth’s defenders. The stakes were too high.

Their practice swords connected, Terry was determined that this night he would prove to his leader that he wasn’t a waste of time. He _could_ be the new pink ranger and fill Mia’s shoes. This match lasted longer than the ones before, Terry skillfully using his smaller size and quickness to dodge Lauren’s attack based style of fighting. “Are you in love with my sister?” He asked, Lauren’s defenses dropped down for _one_ second to process what he had just asked her. With that Terry was able to land a blow straight to her gut. He felt bad for the cheap move, but Emily taught him the art of distraction.

Practice was _over_. Lauren returned the wooden kendo sword to its stand, “What makes you say that?” She didn’t outright answer the question.

“I’ve written a lot of love songs” His band, the Rebel Rockers, had gained some local success...they would be set back from touring to try and find a replacement for him. It sucked. But Xandred winning and taking over the world would suck more. His band would understand. “You visit her room longer than the others”

“I’m the reason she’s in that bed” Lauren frowned, like Jayden she was _supposed_ to be stoic. She shouldn’t have been easy to read, “Her blood is on my hands, and I will pay for that every day”

“Wow, okay” Terry blinked, not expecting _that_ kind of depressing rebuttal, “Or you have a crush on her” He wished these damn training uniforms had some pockets, Terry had to settle for folding his arms and shrugging, “I’m the _pink_ ranger, I know these kind of things. Your eyes don’t lie”

Lauren avoided looking directly at him, she preferred the ground, oh it looked lovely today. Did her eyes really give herself away? Was she that desperate for human contact? “I respect your sister quite a lot and…”

“Oh _relax_ ” Terry laughed, this was almost sad to him, “Take the duty and the _samurai_ out of all of this. Do you want to date my sister?”

The red ranger glanced up to him, she couldn’t allow herself to be so easily read by someone _younger_ than Emily. “...Will you allow me to date your sister?” Lauren frowned as the pink ranger laughed at the question. She was doing the honorable thing in asking for his sister’s hand.

“You don’t need permission from _me_ boss” Terry’s smile only grew, so the red ranger _did_ like his sister. Ha, called it. “But uh yeah go for it” He reached over to pat her arm like a jock would do before a big game, “Get your ranger lovin’ on”

Lauren frowned, her brows furrowing in concern, “Please never use that phrase again”

 

*****

 

“Terry is improving” Lauren sat at Mia’s bedside once more, “I think you would be proud to see his progress. We haven’t started him on fan training yet, but he has the basics down” She genuinely liked Terry, she and the boy had living under a sibling’s shadow in common. “I wish you could see him with your own eyes, and he doesn’t look too bad in pink” Her time with Mia was interrupted by Mike and Emily at the doorway, Emily with tons of magazines in her hand. There was so much she needed to catch her best friend up on in the outside world. Lauren didn’t belong here for that. The red ranger shocked her teammates by leaning over and kissing the side of Mia’s head, “Please wake up soon” Lauren kept her voice low. She nodded politely to the green and yellow couple before making her leave. Tea sounded nice right about now.

What surprised Lauren the most when she sat down for a private moment was that Antonio wanted to join her for a cup, turned out that tea helped him relax as well. “I miss Jayden” He admitted looking down into his hot mug.

“I’m sorry that I can’t be him for you” Lauren calmly sipped her tea, she was used to this sentiment, far too used to being unwanted.

“No, that’s not what I mean” Antonio wanted to clarify, “There’s something I wanted to tell him, and he left before I had the opportunity” He shrugged, sadly, trying to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal.

“You’re in love with him” She observed, was this what Terry saw in her eyes? Lauren knew loneliness _all_ too well. “You worked hard and became the gold ranger just to be in his life again, you don’t do that for just anyone”

Antonio couldn’t even argue that, he had been in love with his best friend for longer than he could remember. Right now the only piece of Jayden he had was sitting in front of him, Lauren Shiba, the long lost sister who missed out on _everything._ “I just...hope he finds what he’s looking for”

“He’ll return, you know” Lauren and Antonio were both playing a _waiting_ game, for Mia to wake up, for Jayden to come home. “And when he does, you’ll tell him”

Antonio glanced over to his leader, “What if he finds someone else before I can even get it off my chest?”

“You can’t think like that” Lauren reached over, hoping she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries by holding his hand. “You have to remain positive” Good things come to those who wait.

“Yeah...yeah I guess so”

“Guys! Guys! Guys!” Emily ran so fast through the Shiba house that one she reached the kitchen she had to slide and grab the table they were sitting at in order to stop, “Mia woke up!” Patience truly was a virtue. Lauren could feel the tension release from her chest. “Where are the others?”

Antonio stared blankly, did he hear this correctly? He motioned his arm to the sparring ground outside where it was Kevin’s turn to train Terry. Emily smiled, she loved being the one to bring good news. Her attention then focused on the other blonde, “Mia’s asking for you”

Antonio could sense the momentary panic flash in Lauren’s eyes. She didn’t know it, but Jayden had a similar expression when faced with an emotional challenge. “Don’t be afraid to tell her” Emily had already whizzed outside to spread the news, leaving the two of them with their tea. “I _know_ ” What? Did Lauren have ‘ _I love Mia Watanabe’_ stamped onto her forehead?

“...Thank you…” She didn’t know what else to say, Lauren only carried hope that Antonio and Terry could keep their mouths shut around the others about this.

They agreed that everyone coming in to see Mia at the same time would overwhelm her so Antonio played watchdog as Lauren took the first shift. Mike had been talking to the pink ranger, filling her in on everything that she had missed. “It’s 2017!” He couldn’t hide his grin, always leave it to Mike to try and make some sort of joke, “Emily and I got _married_ and she’s going to have a baby” Mia’s eyes widened at that revelation, _what?_ Lauren wasn’t pleased, why lie about _that_?

“He’s kidding. It’s still 2012. You’ve only been out for a couple of days” Lauren narrowed her eyes before Mike could name Mia an official guardian of the hypothetical child.

“So, Star Wars isn’t coming back?” Mia asked in confusion, she had only just woken up, and admittedly still felt dazed. “Luke Skywalker is fine?”

“I don’t know any warriors by that name” Lauren wasn’t sure what intergalactic war they were talking about or a power ranger by the name Luke Skywalker but she supposed anything would be possible. “Can you give us a moment?”

Mike nodded, he couldn’t contain the smile on his face. He exited the room, excited to tell the guys how she actually _believed_ for just a second that five years had gone by. The girls inside Mia’s room heard a loud “ow!” From outside following by laughter. Antonio must have punched Mike’s arm for even trying to play such a trick.

“2017 sounded awful” Mia paused, taking a long moment to think what all Mike had told her. “Except for Mike and Emily getting married, that would be nice” She caught Lauren’s eye and offered a kind smile, “Hey, I know what you’re thinking” Despite Lauren and Jayden being raised apart, the two carried a lot of similar traits...being hard on themselves was definitely at the top. “This wasn’t your fault” She was de-morphed and got hit at the right opportunity, “They got a lucky shot in” The true pink ranger rested her head back onto the wood of the headboard, “I’m okay”

“I’m sorry” Mia shook her head at Lauren’s apology, she had nothing to apologize for in her opinion. “It is my duty to lead this team and I failed”

“The thing about leading is there’s bound to be bumps along the road. It’s how you _handle_ that situation” Mia knew the rest of her friends were getting antsy to see her, “Lauren, will you go on a walk with me tonight? I want some fresh air, and to be outside of this room”

Lauren swallowed, not expecting that to come out of her mouth, “You want to…with me?” She looked to the door on the off chance that one of the others had walked in. Wanting to take a walk with Emily, that would make more sense to Lauren. “I would be honored to accompany you for a walk” She smiled, despite mentally screaming at herself. Why couldn’t she just say yes like a normal person?

 

*****

 

Between getting time in with the other rangers and going to the hospital to get properly checked out, Mia Watanabe had an exhausting day. Terry promised that he would stay a couple of extra days, not for training, but to just be around his sister. He was so excited to tell the Rebel Rockers that he would be back in action. Terry was free from his duties as a ranger as long as Mia was able bodied. Perhaps that was what Jayden needed to do, to be free from obligation in a journey of self discovery.

Lauren had an entire day to panic, she didn’t know _why_ Mia had singled her out of the group to take the walk with. Maybe, just maybe, she returned her feelings as well? Was someone caring for her really outside the realm of possibility? No she was just probably being nice, and wanted to assure her leader that she shouldn’t be so hard on herself.

Oh God. Her leader. It only dawned on Lauren now that having a crush on one of her teammates was _probably_ frowned upon as she was in a leadership position over her. A knock at her door sent her heart into overdrive, just _be_ cool, she was going to be _just_ fine. Lauren opened her door to find Mia standing before her. When they returned from the hospital the pink ranger wanted to take a proper shower and change into something that made her feel more human. The blonde took in the sight before her, “You look beautiful” So much for being cool, “Ha. I mean lovely” Not better, “Appropriately cute for an evening stroll” only getting worse now.

“Come on” Mia reached forward to take Lauren’s hand, and more importantly, getting the flustered red ranger to stop talking. The pair of girls walked through the hallway and out the back so the others wouldn’t see them. Mia felt safe with Lauren, the red ranger would take care of her if anything were to happen. Once they were outside, Mia wouldn’t let go of her leaders hand. “Terry tells me you’ve been at my bedside every day”

“Twice a day actually” She wasn’t sure how that came off as Mia was unconscious during all of that, “I...oh it sounds dumb”

“What is it?”

“I wanted to keep you updated” Lauren wasn’t sure if she should even make the comment, “And my day would feel off if I didn’t see you” She hoped her companion for the evening didn’t take that the wrong way. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine? I guess? Weirdly tired, but better” Mia didn’t know _how_ she was supposed to be feeling, she was just glad to have Lauren as company here under the stars. “I didn’t realize it would be so cold tonight”

“Oh here” Lauren let go of Mia’s hand in favor of taking her blazer off and handing it to her, “The cold doesn’t bother me much” As someone who’s element was _fire_ the blazer she wore was mostly for a fashion statement.

“Much better” Mia smiled, taking Lauren’s hand once more. Lauren didn’t know much about girls, or any of this, but this was a classic move and she fell right into it. It wasn’t even _that_ cold outside. “I’ve been wanting to tell you something for awhile, and well, being a coma for almost a week kind of gives perspective on everything” She led Lauren to a bench so the pair could sit down and talk this over properly, “That life is too short, and a sense of duty shouldn’t hold me back from saying this”

“Wait um before you say what I think you’re going to say” A sense of duty. Lauren was the _head_ of the Shiba clan, if anyone had an important role to play it was her. “No one's ever shown me kindness the way you have. I’m fortunate to have you on my team” Antonio regretted never telling Jayden how he felt, Lauren couldn’t follow that same path, “I think you’re amazing Mia”

“If I’m so amazing, can you let me finish?” Mia tilted her head, the red ranger dumbly nodding along, “You, Lauren Shiba, are stunning” Being considered pretty wasn’t something she was told often...or frankly, ever. “You’re kind, gentle, strong...you somehow find a way to smile” Lauren had to face such a challenge, to remain positive about life when she was literally ripped from her family showed true inner strength, “...I’ve admired you for some time” Her face flushed at her next confession, “And that’s grown into something else”

Lauren wasn’t great with expressing her feelings, she wasn’t used to _having_ these sort of feelings. For being a leader rousing speeches were a bit over her head. Growing up in isolation, there was no one to make speeches too. “I’m in love with you” She blurted it out, her mouth closing in on itself after saying such a thing. Oh boy, she should have remembered her training. When on the offensive never put all of your strength in one blow, it will leave you open and vulnerable. “I mean...uh you have the grace of a crane” Now _there’s_ a sexy comment.

Mia pulled Lauren in by the scarf around her neck, taking her out of her misery by capturing her lips in a kiss. Despite being older, Lauren had never felt affection like this before, she had never been kissed...it was utterly intoxicating. For once someone wanted _her_ for _her_ and not as a replacement for Jayden. The red ranger kept close, “I vow to you, that I will keep you safe, I won’t fail you again”

“I don’t _need_ you to make that promise” Seeing that they were on the same page, Mia felt comfortable enough to peck the red rangers lips, “Maybe it's time someone looks out for _you_ for a change” The pink ranger mimicked Lauren’s formality in her promise with a lopsided grin, “I vow to you, that I will keep _you_ safe”  
  
Whatever Xandred had coming their way, Lauren and Mia...the team would be able to stand strong and face it. One by one the group had started to warm up to the idea of a new leader and even with Jayden out of the picture for now the Power Rangers Samurai team were family and no one messed with this family. No matter how grim and how dark the world could be, love would be able to overcome the Nighlok king. Lauren found friendship, she found love and for the first time in her life she felt _wanted_ outside of her ability to create the fire seal.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays!


End file.
